Regulating device in which the pressure of a fluid is regulated

ABSTRACT

An improved regulating device, in which the regulation is effected by regulating the pressure of a fluid the generating pressure of which is variable, wherein the improvement comprises, in combination, a detector of changes in a physical magnitude, displacement of this detector moves by mechanical means a variable obstruction placed at the outlet of a power jet, the output of which is amplified and supplies an output pressure which controls a pneumatic device acting on the said physical magnitude.

Uite States Patent Soviche et all,

[151 3,654,945 51 Apr. 11, 1972 [54] REGULATING DEVICE IN WHICH THEPRESSURE OF A FLUID IS REGULATED [72] Inventors: Gilles Andre PaulSoviche; Jean Pierre Bues, both of La Celle Saint-Cloud; CyrilleFrancois Pavlin, Saclay; Edouard Maurice Eugene Aime Mace, Saint-CyrLErcole, all of France [73] Assignees: Entreprise de Recherches etDActivites Petrolieres-Elf, Paris; Bertin & Cie, Plaisir, France 22Filed: Dec. 30, 1969 21 Appl.No.: 889,162

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Dec. 31, 1968 France ..1825l5[52] US. Cl. "137/815, 235/201 ME [51] Int.Cl. ..Fl5c3/14 [58] IieldoiSearch ..137/81.5;235/201ME [56] References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS 7 3,232,095 2/ 1966 Symnoski et a1 ..137/8l.5 X

Vockroth, Jr ..137/81.5

Primary Examiner-Samuel Scott Attorney-Brufsky, Staas, Breiner andHalsey [57] ABSTRACT An improved regulating device, in which theregulation is effected by regulating the pressure of a fluid thegenerating pressure of which is variable, wherein the improvementcomprises, in combination, a detector of changes in a physicalmagnitude, displacement of this detector moves by mechanical means avariable obstruction placed at the outlet of a power jet, the output ofwhich is amplified and supplies an output pressure which controls apneumatic device acting on the said physical magnitude.

6 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PATENTEDAPR 11 I972 SHEET 1 [IF 4 PATENTEDM11 I972 SHEET 2 [IF 4 PATENT warn 1 912 SHEU 0F 4 REGULATING BEVICE INWHICH THE PRESSURE OF A FL Um IS REGULATED DESCRIPTION The inventionrelates, as indicated to regulating devices using the pressure of afluid with variable output pressure.

The invention comprises a regulating device with a detector of changesin a physical magnitude, wherein the displacement of the detector movesby mechanical means a variable obstruction placed at the outlet of adeflector of a power jet, wherein the discharge is collected andamplified to supply an output pressure capable of controlling apneumatic device which acts on the said physical magnitude.

It is an object of the invention to provide a device of the kindhereinbefore mentioned, adapted to regulate, according to the receivingmember connected, either the delivery or the output pressure as afunction of a mechanical movement at the inlet which is preferablysupplied by a pressure-sensitive member. It is a further object of theinvention to provide a device of the kind hereinbefore mentioned inwhich the regulating point and the sensitivity are adjustableindependently of each other.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a device of the kindhereinbefore mentioned, which operates either proportionally or in anall or nothing manner. It is another object of the invention to providea device of the kind hereinbefore mentioned which may be controlled by adirect or inverse operation.

The device according to the invention may be combined, on one hand, withany detector of a variation in a physical magnitude, such as, forexample, a pressure, an output, a level, temperature, a speed, and thelike which causes a displacement of the said detector, and on the otherhand to any pneumatic device capable of acting on the physical magnitudeunder review.

Further advantages and features of the invention will become apparentfrom the following description with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, and from the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatical view of the device according to theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-section along the line II-Il in FIG. 3 and shows oneembodiment of a jet deflector;

FIG. 3 is a cross-section along the line III-III in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-section along the line IVIV in FIG. 5 showing anembodiment of a fluid power amplifier stage;

FIG. 5 is a cross-section along the line VV in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a cross-section of the detail A in FIG. 1 and shows themechanical connection between the detector and the obstructioncollaborating with a jet deflector;

FIG. 7 shows the detail A in perspective;

FIG. 8 is a graph showing the relation between the generating pressureP, and the utilization pressure P FIG. 9 shows the development of a cam.

The fluid, the pressure of which is to be controlled flows from achamber 1, in which it is affected by a variable starting pressure P,through a conduit 2, the downstream end of which is provided with avalve 3 into a utilization conduit 4. The conduit 4 is equipped with apressure pickup 5 connected by a conduit 6 to a deforming system 7 knownin the art, for example, a bellows co-operating with a steel leaf or asocalled Bourdon" tube.

The upstream end 8 of the deforming system 7 see particularly FIGS. 6and 7), is mounted by means of a stay 9 on the wall 11 of a box 12, theconnection being made by any suitable means, for example by a screw 13.

The downstream end 14 of the system 7 is adapted to move under theaction of the fluid in the conduit 6. This end 14 carries a plate 15mounted in its plane of symmetry and on which rests, substantially inthis plane of symmetry a shaft 16 located in a bearing 17 mounted in onewall 18 of the box. The shaft 16 carries on one side of the bearing 17 alever 19 and on the other side a plate 21. The lever 19 co-operates withthe said plate 15 by means of a pin 22 which is urged against this plateby a tension spring 23 mounted with one end on the lever 19 and with theother end in the plane of symmetry on the plate 15. It may be seen thatthe lever 19 may assume two positions relative to the plane of symmetryof the plate 15 shown in solid lines and in chain dotted lines in FIG. 7according to whether it is located on one or the other side of theplate. These arrangements which permit, respectively, functioning indirect action or in inverse action will be explained in detail furtherbelow.

The plate 21 co-operates with a wheel 24 via a roller 25, the positionof which relative to the plate 21 and to the wheel 24 may vary inconsequence of the displacement of adjusting means, such as a threadedrod 27 which may be equipped, for example, with a milled knob 28 andscrewed into a boss 26 of the housing 12.

The wheel 24 is mounted slidingly on a pivot 29 located in ball bearings31 and 32 in the partition 18 and the wall 33 of the housing. The saidwheel 24 has a crown 34 mounted by means of a flange 35 and comprisingrecesses 36 into which engage studs 37 of a disk 38 fixed by means of akey 39 on the pivot 29. Within the flange 35, a compression spring 41 isarranged and tends to push the wheel 24 and the disk 38 apart so as toretain the former in contact with the roller 25 which is itself incontact with the plate 21. A spring 42 is provided to eliminate playbetween the wheel 24 and the disk 38. On the disk 38 is mounted a cam43, the circumference of which forms a variable obstruction at theoutlet of a power jet of a jet deflector 44.

This cam, shown in development in FIG. 9, i.e. at the distance a' fromthe center as a function of the center angle a, forms a progressiveobstruction between two bearings 45 and The wheel 24 which is, in theoperating position, in contact with the roller 25, may be detached fromthis roller by the following device in order to adjust the sensitivityof the arrangement.

A lever 47, mounted at 48 on an extension 49 of the partition 18 isaffected on one side by a spring 41, working normally in compression andfixed to the lever at 52 and to the partition at 53, and on the otherside by the end of a slide block 54, guided in a bore 55 in a boss 56 ofthe partition 18, and the other end of which is in contact with the endof a screw 57 screwed into the wall 11 of the housing.

By operating the screw 57, the lever 47 pivots under the action of thespring 51 about the fixed point 48 and rests through a roller 58 on thewheel 24. Since the force of the spring 51 is greater than that of thespring 41, the wheel 24 slides on the pivot 29 and approaches the disk34, whilst simultaneously disengaging from the roller 25 which can nowbe easily adjusted. Moreover, the translatory movement of the wheel 24permits the bevelled edge of this wheel to make contact with a pinion ora conical friction wheel 59, the shaft 61 of which passes through thewall 18 and is held in position by a shoulder 62 and a compressionspring 63, resting on a reducing gear 64 which meshes with a gear 65,the shaft 66 of which pivots in journals 67 and 68, provided,respectively, in the wall 11 and in the partition 18. One end of thisshaft carries a knurled knob 69. In this manner, the device may beadjusted to a reference pressure.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the logic circuit is supplied by a source 71of pressurized fluid, supplying chambers 72,73 and 74 through a conduit75 through a pressure regulator 76. Preferably, the chambers 72,73 and74 are in series and communicate through orifices or diaphragms 77 and78 so that the first chamber 72 has the highest pressure and the lastchamber 74 the lowest pressure.

The chamber 74, in which the pressure is lowest supplies via a conduit79 through a nozzle 81 a fluid jet deflector 82 (FIG. 2) the workingchannel 83 of which is located substantially in the extension butdiscontinuously, and in the axis of the said nozzle. Thistwo-dimensional working channel 83 diverges towards the outlet conduit84 and is, for example defined laterally by molding by a projection of aplate 86, to which is fixed another plate 07, as well known in the art.

The space between the said two plates and outside the projection is incommunication with the surrounding medium.

A channel 08, provided in the two plates 86 and 87 at right angles tothe axis and to the outlet of the nozzle 81, is adapted to receive thecam 43. This cam 43, the development of which is represented in FIG. 9,masks to a greater or lesser degree the outlet of the nozzle 31 andforms thereby a variable obstruction of the jet issuing from the saidnozzle. This obstruction deflects the jet in proportion to itspositioning. The working channel 03 of the deflector is connected by aconduit 112 to a control channel 89 of an amplifier 91, supplied via aconduit 92 from the chamber 73. The amplifier may be that described inFrench Pat. application No. 181,006, filed on Dec. 27, 1968 in the nameof Bertin et Cie. The outlet 93 of the amplifier 91 is connected by aconduit 111 to a control channel 108 of a fluid amplifier which issubstantially identical to the first amplifier and is supplied via aconduit 95 from the chamber 72. The outlet of this latter amplifier 94is connected to the inlet of the pneumatic valve 3 by a conduit 109.

This valve 3, shown diagrammatically in FIG. 1, consists of a flap valve98 which controls the orifice 99, forming the connection between theconduit 2 and the working conduit 4. This flap 98 is extended by aspindle 101 equipped with guide means 102 and ending in a plate ordiaphragm 103 affected by a spring 104, normally working in compression.The whole valve is mounted in a housing 105.

A conduit 106 with a valve 107 connects the input 97 of the valve 3 withthe control channel 89 of the said first amplifier.

The direct, proportional, operation is as follows:

The valve 107 is closed. The lever 19 is in the position shown by solidlines. An increase, for example, in the pressure in the working conduit4 is transmitted through the conduit 6 to the deformation system 7, thedisplacement of which causes the rotation of the lever 19 and, via theshaft 16, of the plate 21. This plate 21 entrains through the roller 25the wheel 24 which moves the cam 43 so as to reduce the obstructioncaused by the jet deflector to increase the pressure in the workingconduit 4. The fluid recovered in the working channel 83 increases andcauses the deflection of the fluidoperated amplifier 91 to increase. Thefluid recovered in the working conduit 93 of this amplifier decreasesand with it also the deflection of the jet of the second amplifier 94.The fluid in the working channel 96 rises and drives back, in this typeof valve, the flap 93 which has so far obstructed the orifice 99,controlling thereby the pressure in the working conduit to the desiredvalue.

The inverse, proportional operation is as follows:

The valve 107 is closed. The lever 19 is in the position indicated bychain-dotted lines. The operating sequences are the same as in thepreceding case, but the symmetrical position of the lever 19, comparedwith the function described above, reverses the movement of the cam andcauses an increase of the obstruction in the case of an increase in thepressure in the working conduit. This kind of operation is suitable, forexample, with a pneumatic valve, the opening of which is proportional tothe pressure applied to its inlet.

The all-or-nothing operation is as follows:

The valve 107 is open.

In this type of operation, the counter-reaction coming from the outletof the last stage is added to the pressure signal from the detector. Inconsequence, the output pressure rises and becomes stable at the maximumvalue of which the apparatus is capable. lnversely, if the pressure fromthe detector drops sufficiently to cause a drop in the output pressure,the counter-reaction also decreases so that the output pressure drops toits minimum value.

Replacement of amplifier 91 by an amplifier 91a permits of obtaining theon-off" working (all-or-nothing operation), the valve 107 being closed.

FIG. 8 shows the generating pressure P as a function of the workingpressure P,; the curves indicate different modes of operation in direct,proportional function, according to two different sensitivities adjustedby a different setting of the roller 25, wherein the working pressure isthe pressure P. The curve W shows inverse, proportional operation.

Obviously, the invention described in the foregoing is not limited tothe embodiment described and illustrated, and may be modified by anymeans known in the art. More particularly, the pressure regulator maycontrol, through a suitable pneumatic device, any desired physicalmagnitude, variations of which may be translated into mechanicalmovements by means of a suitable detector, such as pressures, outputs(in which case the detector is preferably a differential pressuredevice), levels, temperatures, speeds and the like.

We claim:

1. A regulating device for controlling the magnitude of a physicalentity comprising:

a sensor of magnitude variations of said physical entity,

pressure sensitive means for controlling said magnitude, and

a modulatable fluidic system under the modulating control of said sensorand delivering a modulated pressure signal to said pressure sensitivemeans, said fluidic system comprising:

three sources of motive fluid at different pressures, namely alow-pressure source, a medium-pressure source, and a high-pressuresource,

a power fluid discharge nozzle connected to said low-pressure source andproducing a power stream,

a movable modulator member cooperating with said nozzle and having astream shearing rim of such progressively designed outline as toobstruct to a continuously varying extent the path of said stream whensaid rim progresses in stream shearing relationship crosswise of saidpath, whereby said stream is bodily deflected to a continuously varyingdegree as it issues from said nozzle,

an adjustable mechanical transmission extending between said sensor andsaid modulator member for displacing said stream shearing rim acrosssaid path in response to said sensor,

a power fluid collecting intake positioned opposite said nozzle, and

a fluid amplifier with two stages in cascade, namely an upstream firststage and a downstream second stage, said upstream stage having a firstpower input connected to said medium-pressure source, a first controlinput connected to said intake and a first load output, and saiddownstream stage having a second power input connected to saidhigh-pressure source, a second control input connected to said firstload output and a second load output connected to said pressuresensitive means.

2. A regulating device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said fluidamplifier further comprises a feedback duct interconnecting said secondload output and said first control input, and valve means in saidfeedback duct for selectively opening and cutting off said feedbackduct.

3. A regulating device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said modulatormember comprises a cam-shaped disk mounted for rotation about a pivot,and said mechanical transmission comprises a lever actuated by saidsensor, a shaft driven by said lever, a plate fast with said shaft, awheel rotatingly connected with said disk and mounted for rotation aboutsaid pivot, and a roller interposed between and engaging both said plateand said wheel.

4. A regulating device as set forth in claim 3 wherein the said wheel isadapted to slide axially on the said pivot.

5. A regulating device as set forth in claim 3 wherein the said rolleris provided with means for adjusting its spacing relative to the centersof the plate and of the wheel in order to adjust the sensitivity of thetransmission.

6. A regulating device as set forth in claim 3 wherein the said wheelmay be disengaged from the roller by a member acting on the wheel andcontrolled by a spindle with an adjusting knob.

1. A regulating device for controlling the magnitude of a physicalentity comprising: a sensor of magnitude variations of said physicalentity, pressure sensitive means for controlling said magnitude, and amodulatable fluidic system under the modulating control of said sensorand delivering a modulated pressure signal to said pressure sensitivemeans, said fluidic system comprising: three sources of motive fluid atdifferent pressures, namely a low-pressure source, a medium-pressuresource, and a highpressure source, a power fluid discharge nozzleconnected to said low-pressure source and producing a power stream, amovable modulator member cooperating with said nozzle and having astream shearing rim of such progressively designed outline as toobstruct to a continuously varying extent the path of said stream whensaid rim progresses in stream shearing relationship crosswise of saidpath, whereby said stream is bodily deflected to a continuously varyingdegree as it issues from said nozzle, an adjustable mechanicaltransmission extending between said sensor and said modulator member fordisplacing said stream shearing rim across said path in response to saidsensor, a power fluid collecting intake positioned opposite said nozzle,and a fluid amplifier with two stages in cascade, namely an upstreamfirst stage and a downstream second stage, said upstream stage having afirst power input connected to said medium-pressure source, a firstcontrol input connected to said intake and a first load output, and saiddownstream stage having a second power input connected to saidhigh-pressure source, a second control input connected to said firstload output and a second load output connected to said pressuresensitive means.
 2. A regulating device as set forth in claim 1 whereinsaid fluid amplifier further comprises a feedback duct interconnectingsaid second load output and said first control input, and valve means insaid feedback duct for selectively opening and cutting off said feedbackduct.
 3. A regulating device as set forth in claim 1 wherein saidmodulator member comprises a cam-shaped disk mounted for rotation abouta pivot, and said mechanical transmission comprises a lever actuated bysaid sensor, a shaft driven by said lever, a plate fast with said shaft,a wheel rotatingly connected with said disk and mounted for rotationabout said pivot, and a roller interposed between and engaging both saidplate and said wheel.
 4. A regulating device as set forth in claim 3wherein the said wheel is adapted to slide axially on the said pivot. 5.A regulating device as set forth in claim 3 wherein the said roller isprovided with means for adjusting its spacing relative to the centers ofthe plate and of the wheel in order to adjust the sensitivity of thetransmission.
 6. A regulating device as set forth in claim 3 wherein thesaid wheel may be disengaged from the roller by a member acting on thewheel and controlled by a spindle with an adjusting knob.